🎉 From Playdates to Fiestas: How The Play District Brings Families Together
Jump In Tucson 8/15/24: 🌵 Discovering Tucson's Family-Friendly Side with The Play District
Based on the 8/15/24 Jump In Tucson Show on KVOI-1030AM in Tucson, AZ.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
The Play District is like a big map of fun things to do with your family in Tucson! 🗺️ It was started by a mom who wanted to help other families find cool places to go and yummy restaurants to eat at. 👩👩👧👦 They even have special parties where you can try new places for free or less money. 🎉 Now they're making maps for other cities too, so more kids can find fun things to do! 🌍
🗝️ Takeaways
🖥️ The Play District offers a comprehensive online resource for family activities
🎈 Regular events like "Let's Play Playdates" introduce families to new venues
🤝 Collaboration with local businesses helps promote family-friendly options
🌐 The platform is expanding from Tucson to Phoenix and San Diego
📚 Topics Discussed
🎭 The Play District: Tucson's Family Fun Hub
The Play District, founded by Katie Yaeli about two years ago, has become a central resource for family-friendly activities in Tucson. Born out of Yaeli's personal experience as a mother struggling to find activities for her young children, the Play District aims to simplify the process of discovering and planning family outings.
The platform covers many family-oriented businesses and activities, including attractions, restaurants, classes, services, party vendors, hotels, and local events. Unlike many review-based platforms, the Play District focuses on providing detailed, objective information about each listing, allowing families to make informed decisions based on their specific needs and preferences.
🏙️ Expanding to New Horizons: Phoenix and San Diego
After establishing a strong presence in Tucson, the Play District expanded its services to Phoenix about a year ago. This expansion brought new challenges, as the Phoenix market is significantly larger and more diverse than Tucson's. Yaeli noted that while Tucson typically has one or two options in each category, Phoenix might have 15-20, requiring a different approach to organizing and presenting information.
The Play District is also in the early stages of expanding to San Diego. Their strategy for entering this new market involves first building a social media presence to engage with the local community before launching the full online resource. This approach allows them to gauge interest and tailor their offerings to the specific needs of San Diego families.
🤝 Collaborating with Local Businesses
A key aspect of the Play District's success is its collaboration with local businesses. The platform offers free basic listings for businesses, allowing them to reach their target audience of families. For businesses seeking more visibility, there are paid advertising options, with special discounts available for members of the Southern Arizona Attractions Alliance.
Yaeli highlighted the difference between working with businesses in Tucson and Phoenix. In Tucson, she often works directly with business owners; in Phoenix, she frequently interacts with PR firms representing the businesses. This adds an extra layer of communication and reflects the larger scale of the Phoenix market.
📅 Family-Friendly Events in Tucson
The Play District provides information about ongoing activities and organizes its own events. These include "Let's Play Playdates," which are smaller events designed to introduce families to new venues, often with reduced or free admission. These events serve as a low-commitment way for families to try out new experiences.
A highlight of their event calendar is the bi-annual "Play Fiesta" held at Trail Dust Town. The first of these events, held in February, was a huge success, attracting over 3,000 attendees. The next Play Fiesta is scheduled for November 10th, strategically placed between Halloween and Christmas to offer families a fun outing during this busy season.
🍽️ Kid-Friendly Dining Experiences
The interview touched on the importance of kid-friendly dining options. Tom Moulton emphasized the value of restaurants offering kids' meals, suggesting that removing these options could harm a restaurant's family appeal. Yaeli added an interesting perspective on marketing family-friendly restaurants, noting that the Play District provides a "safe space" for restaurants to advertise their family-friendly features without deterring customers seeking a child-free dining experience.
💻 Online Resources for Family Activities
The Play District's website, theplaydistrict.com, is a comprehensive family resource. Users can create accounts to save and share their favorite businesses, creating a personalized guide to family fun in their area. The site also allows businesses to create free accounts, enabling them to list basic information and one event per month.
🏆 Recognizing Family-Friendly Businesses
While the Play District doesn't currently offer reviews or ratings, Yaeli mentioned they are exploring ways to highlight popular businesses. They're considering implementing a " kudos " system that would allow community members to show appreciation for businesses they enjoy. This could potentially lead to a "Play District stamp of approval" for businesses that receive many kudos, creating a community-driven recognition system.
🎟️ Southern Arizona Attractions Alliance
The interview also highlighted the role of the Southern Arizona Attractions Alliance (SAAA) in promoting local attractions. The SAAA, which Tom Moulton is involved with, brings together attractions of all sizes to collaborate and promote Tucson as a destination. The Play District offers special advertising discounts to SAAA members, fostering a mutually beneficial relationship between these organizations that promote family activities in the region.
👩🏼🤝👨🏾 People Mentioned
Katie Yaeli
"Everything that we do at the play district, we want it to have a positive impact on the businesses that work with us."
"We're exploring different ways to give what we're going to call kudos to different businesses."
Tom Moulton
"I think the worst thing a restaurant could do is have a kids meal and do away with it."
Papa Noel (mentioned hypothetically)
"We'll have to contact Papa Noel and see if he wouldn't mind traveling down a little bit south for that special event."
Dr. Ackerley (mentioned for upcoming show)
"Don't forget to tune in tomorrow and hear Dr. Ackerley at 9 o'clock."
Chris Dodge
"We're going to talk about the Tucson Jazz Festival with their executive director, Chris Dodge."
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Previous Show:
🚨 Tucson's Crime Wave: A Grim Reality or Exaggerated Fears?
Based on the 8/14/24 Jump In Tucson Show on KVOI-1030AM in Tucson, AZ.
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